"exact(ual)ly"

[Mullins, Bill]

And unfortunately, we won't be able to find out by watching the film,
since Disney is quietly leaving it on the shelf, not to be
released again in theaters, on the tube, or in videotape or DVD.
 
Which is a shame, because despite its antediluvian portrayal
of 19th century Blacks, it is a good movie.
 

________________________________

From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Wilson Gray
Sent: Sun 1/23/2005 10:18 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "exact(ual)ly"



>
>> ~~~~~~~~
>>> an exchange with a friend on the text of Alice...  anyone have any
>>> light to shed on "exactually"?
>>>
> ************
>         Just an obvious comment; In "exactly"and  "actually" we see
> partial phonetic overlap ("act" and "-ly" in both). So "actually" was
> partially grafted onto "exactly", producing "exactually."
>
>          In a similar vein (if I remember right), The Zippidy doo-dah
> song contains the line "Everything is satisfactual." Here too we see
> partial phonetic overlap ("ac" in "fac(t)" and "actual." So "actual"
> was grafted onto "satisfac-", perhaps merely as poetic licence, with
> the loss of the -"tory" ("satisfactory").
>         Again, this is valid only if my memory is correct.
>
>         Gerald Cohen
>

"It's the truth!
  It's akchul!
  Ev'rything is sa-tis-fak-chul!"

Your memory is close enough for government work, Gerald. I can't vouch
for the accuracy of my pseudo-phonetic spelling, but that's certainly
what it sounded like to me.

-Wilson Gray